Bomb
accused to contest election: With some political and social organisations rallying behind him, Salim Khan Durrani, an accused in the 1993 bomb blast case, is all set to contest the Maharashtra Assembly elections from
Amboli.

SC
seeks information on medical seat quota: The Supreme Court today asked the Chief Secretaries of six States to furnish information about vacancies in the 15 per cent all India quota in government medical colleges.

More
submissions before Godhra
panel: The then Intelligence chief, R.B. Shreekumar, today told the Godhra inquiry Commission that the State Intelligence Bureau had information about the return of kar sevaks from Ayodhya.

India, Pakistan swap prisoners: India and Pakistan today swapped 55 civilian prisoners (36 Pakistanis and 19 Indians) as a goodwill gesture. This comes days before the crucial talks between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries.

Indians prone to
AIDS: India's battle against AIDS is expected to become difficult with the finding by a leading geneticist that the genetic make-up of Indians is such that they are easily prone to infection by the Human Immuno deficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.
Jana ready to enter PWG lair for peace dialogue:
As a demonstration of the State government\92s commitment towards resolving the Naxalite issues, Home Minister K Jana Reddy has offered to act as the sole government representative to hold talks with the PWG.

Spotlight400 years
of a holy bookAmritsar rings with festivity
About 3.5 mn Sikhs from the world over are expected to participate in the
five-day celebrations to mark four centuries of the Sikh holy book,
the Guru Granth Sahib.Selfless seva at Guru ki Nagri
Faith moves and and the desire to serve was in evidence all along the
road leading to Harmandar Sahib.

Kalam brings CM, Badal together on stage
\93Today is not a day for politics. It is a day for celebrations,\94 said Akali Dal chief, Parkash Singh Badal, just before the celebrations.35 injured in stampede:Thirty five people were injured and several vehicles damaged today in a stampede that followed a fire that engulfed a truck carrying material for fireworks during the celebrations.

Study tour or junket?:
Four Bangalore corporators and two officials recently visited some cities
abroad, claiming that they would \91study\92 development projects there. Deccan Herald found
it was just a junket.

Neighbours12 Nepalese hostages killed in Iraq: An Iraqi militant group today claimed responsibility for killing 12 kidnapped Nepalese, shifting the focus back to a spate of abductions in Iraq that include three Indians working for a Kuwaiti transport company.

Nepal
plans evacuation from Iraq: A day after an Islamic militant group executed a dozen Nepalis in Iraq, the government has said
it will evacuate Nepalis who are still working in the war-ravaged country.

Air strike leaves 8 Afghans dead:
Eight Afghan villagers were killed and an Afghan aid worker was injured when planes of the US-led coalition bombed a north eastern village after a firefight with militants late on Monday, a Danish aid group said on Tuesday. ...

Iraq group released
Indian hostages: A day after 12 Nepali workers were massacred,
a relieved India received news that the three Indian hostages were
released.
India, Pakistan swapped prisoners: The goodwill gesture
comes before an important meeting.

Pilgrims
started arriving in Punjab: About 3.5 million people will pour
into Amritsar during a five-day festival to mark 400 years of the
Sikh holy book.